For What It's Worth
by Quantias
Summary: My version of Lifetime Piling Up. What if Dan had married Karen instead? How different would everything in Tree Hill be? Read about it. I won't spoil the suprise of the shippings C:
1. At The Beginning

Disclaimer: One tree hill and it's characters belongs to Mark Schwahn and the WB. Only Isabel and Gerald belong to me.

Summary: My own version of 'lifetime piling up'. Contains spoilers if you haven't seen season 2. This is basically about how things would've been if Dan had married Karen instead of Deb.

So what happened is Dan married Karen, and they're happy. He's not as big a monster

as he is in the show. Karen is a business graduate, she managed to attend college with Dan helping to take care of Lucas. Dan is also a business graduate, he and Karen own most of the clubs and cafes in Tree Hill and neighboring towns.

Keith and Jules are married and happy together as well, they have a daughter named Bettina. Keith's a successful business man and owns Keith Scott Motors. Jules is a housewife.

Deb married another man, Gerald Lennox, who was actually her childhood sweetheart. Gerald knows that Nathan is not his son, but Nathan does not know that Dan is his real father. Deb and Gerald moved to Tree Hill because that's where Gerald does his business deals with Brooke's father. They're co-workers.

Haley, Brooke and Peyton are just as the show has shown.

"Mom! Guess what?" Nathan shouted as he ran in through the door. He bound up the stairs quickly, two at a time.

"What's up, honey?" Deb smiled at her son. "I joined the basketball team!"

The smile quickly fell of Deb's face, but she tried to keep it there, forcing herself to smile. "That's great hon…"

"Yeah I know! How cool is that?" Nathan asked enthusiastically. "Oh well, I gotta run, I'm late for meeting Haley."

Deb watched Nathan quickly rush to his room to get ready to meet his best friend. She sighed to herself, 'what am I going to do?' she thought, 'it seems no matter how I try to shelter Nathan, the fact that Dan is his father and he will be around Dan is unavoidable. That bastard.'

She thought about college, about how she had been drunk, young and stupid. It was a mistake, thinking that he'd care about her. But she could never regret it too much, because in the end, Dan had given her Nathan, her son whom she loved more than anything else.

Her son whom she'd do anything to protect.

Lucas pushed her up against the brick wall, the rough bricks scraping her soft skin. But she didn't care. Peyton pressed herself back towards it, thrilled and disgusted by his touch at the same time. She hated how he made her feel weak, how she let him use her for sex.

There was nothing she could do about it though. She was in love with him, if this was love. She didn't know. She just knew that'd she'd always let him do whatever he wanted, because she couldn't say no.

Lucas' mouth was moving against her neck, his kisses making her body tremble and tingle. She kissed him back, leaving butterfly kisses on his scrawny neck. He unbuttoned her jeans and pushed her further against the brick wall.

"No, Luke, not here, not now." She moaned. Lucas ignored her and began to unzip her jeans. "Lucas! Stop it, I mean it!" She shouted and pushed him away. As she began to button her jeans again, Lucas shouted, "what Peyton? What? You're such a tease! God, if you want to be like that, fine! Get your own ride home."

Peyton watched with tears in her eyes as Lucas went back to the car, threw all her things out and drove off, leaving her standing in the cold.

Nathan jogged through the café doors and in his excitement, accidentally knocked over a girl. A very pretty girl, he noticed as he was helping her up. "I'm sorry, totally my fault." He apologized.

She smiled, giving him the full benefit of her dimples, "it's okay, since you caught me anyway. Want to buy me a drink?" Nathan nodded.

"I'm Isabel." she introduced herself. "Nathan."

"Wow, Nathan- do you always have such a way with words?" She teased. He blushed, this girl was so outgoing! And… _cool_. Suddenly, something attacked him from behind. "YAHH!" it shrieked. Nathan jumped, he couldn't help it.

"Haley, get off!" He swung her around playfully. After a few desperate swings, Haley did get off. That's when Isabel spoke again, "oh. I'm sorry, I'll leave you to be your girlfriend." She turned to leave, "hey wait! Isabel, it's not like that! This is Haley, my best friend." Nathan introduced. "It's true!" Haley chirped, "we're like brother and sister."

"Oh." Isabel answered, a red blush coloring her cheeks, "God, how stupid do I look?" She giggled nervously. "Nah, you're fine." Nathan answered, hoping he looked as charming as he was trying to sound. "Come on." Isabel pulled him to a booth where they both gave Haley their orders.

A/N: How was it? I'm sorry, I know it's kind of short, but yes. If you loved it, please review! (:

You can even email me at if you want.


	2. Things I'll Never Say

Disclaimer: One tree hill and it's characters belongs to Mark Schwahn and the WB. Only Isabel and Gerald belong to me.

Summary: My own version of 'lifetime piling up'. Contains spoilers if you haven't seen season 2. This is basically about how things would've been if Dan had married Karen instead of Deb.

- - -

"God, Haley wait up!" Nathan jogged after her, "don't be mad! I'm sorry, okay?" Haley spun around, fire in her dark brown eyes, "well, sorry doesn't always cut in Nathan!" she shouted.

"Look Hales, I'm sorry that I ended up talking to Isabel when we were supposed to hang out okay? Now can't we just stop fighting." "No Nathan! You clearly don't have your priorities straight, cos some pretty girl is more important than your best friend."

Nathan paused, "you really think she's pretty?" Haley looked at him angrily, "God! You are so insensitive." Nathan started jogging after her again, "but you didn't say anything in the cafe!" He stood infront of Haley, blocking her way.

Haley beat his chest a few times, "its called giving you face, Nathan. Manners, you might like to learn some." She glared at him angrily. "Aw, c'mmon Haley! Don't be like that." Nathan pleaded as he watched his best friend walk away.

- - -

"Hey are you alright?"

Peyton looked up through her tears, the figure was kinda blurry, so she wiped her tears away. It was Jake, one of the guys on the basketball team. "Hi Jake." She smiled, embarrassed for him to see her crying like this.

He reached out an arm and helped her out. "What happened?" He asked, his brow furrowing with concern. She shook her head, "it was nothing." Obviously, he didn't believe her. "It was Lucas, wasn't it? Come on, I'll give you a ride home."

She got into his truck, and Jake continued, "Peyton, Lucas is my friend too. But sometimes he gets kinda out of control. You've got to learn to put your foot down and stand up for yourself."

That's exactly what she had done. And look where she'd ended up. She glanced at him, "Jake, can we please not talk about this?" Jake raised his hands of the steering wheel in his defense, "okay, I'm just saying." He turned and looked at her, Peyton wasn't sure why, but the way he looked at her made shivers of pleasure run up and down her body.

"Peyton," he said softly, "if you ever need anything, just look for me okay? I'm here for you." Then he grinned, kinda ruining the moment for her, and started driving.

- - -

Brooke stretched lazily and woke up, a contented smile on her face. She looked at the sleeping figure by her side, Alexius Rowley, 26 years old, complete with fancy sports cars, lots of money and named by People magazine as one of America's top 50 bachelors under 30. Number 27 to be exact.

She got out of bed, and headed towards the bathroom, "you can let yourself out," Alexius murmured sleepily. Somehow, that made Brooke feel slightly.. hurt? She tried to shake the feeling off. It was a casual thing, just sex. It's not like she needed roses and fine wine. Did she?

She groaned. All this thinking was giving her a headache. She was going home to have a long and nice nap. She highly doubted her parents would've noticed that she'd been gone anyway.

- - -

Karen Scott woke up with a smile on her face, as she often did. Sometimes, it was hard for her to believe that her life really was this perfect. She had gotten nearly everything she ever wanted in life. A great business, owning many successful clubs and cafes, a devoted husband who was still hot and hot for her after 17 years and two good looking, well-rounded kids. She giggled girlishly to herself, just thinking about it.

"Good morning smiley," Dan kissed her on the cheek, wrapping his arms around her waist, "and what are you so cheery about?" "Everything," Karen replied, kissing him. "Our life, is just too perfect." She smiled, showing of her pearly white teeth.

- - -

Peyton got up early, she couldn't rely on Lucas to take her to school today, she doubted he'd show especially after last night, yet, she was surprised when she heard a motor outside her house, 'maybe Lucas has changed! Maybe he feels bad about yesterday!" She thought hopefully to herself.

But when she opened her door, she just saw a truck outside her house. Jake's truck. He opened the door and got out, "Hey Peyton!" He smiled cheerfully, "I thought I'd give you a ride to school, since I was just passing through.

Peyton tried to suppress the smile on her face, but she found that she couldn't. "Thanks." she smiled happily. Jake opened the door for her and helped her into the truck. As she got in though, she felt a familiar morbid sensation take over her originally happy mood.

"Look, Jake, thanks for being so nice to me and all, but this doesn't make us friends or anything, y'know?" Jake laughed, "sure, Peyton, whatever you say." She blushed and turned away, 'why did that boy have to be so god damn happy and hard to offend?'

Maybe she just wasn't used to nice guys.

- - -

A/N: well, that's done :D review please. Email me at narinenia at yahoo. com


	3. Something I Can Never Have

Disclaimer: One tree hill and it's characters belongs to Mark Schwahn and the WB. Only Isabel belongs to me.

A/N: Hi everyone! Sorry for the long non-update. Haha, anyway, I hope you guys enjoy this one! I've been trying to improve my writing style, so yupps!

Summary: My own version of 'lifetime piling up'. Contains spoilers if you haven't seen season 2. This is basically about how things would've been if Dan had married Karen instead of Deb.

- - -

"Hey bitch. What are you so happy about today?" Brooke asked, as she looped a hand through Peyton's arm. Peyton glanced at Brooke, "oh. Nothing much." She shrugged casually, not wanting to give herself away too easily. "Come on Peyton! Tell me!" Brooke begged. It was obvious that Peyton was keeping a secret from her, and she wanted in.

Unwillingly, Peyton's eyes were drawn to Jake across the hall. He was talking to Haley James, the tutor nerd. 'Wait, why is he talking to Haley? Does he like that little nerd or something?' Peyton thought, shocked by her own anger. Brooke followed her gaze, "Jageilski? Oh, I had him two months ago. He's really sweet and attentive. So _polite._" Brooke emphasized and Peyton knew she wasn't referring to his good manners.

"Whatever, Brooke. It's not like I care about him anyway. I've got Lucas." Peyton snapped. Brooke looked startlingly hurt for a moment, and Peyton regretted her words. Brooke had given up Lucas for Peyton, but it seemed for the best. 'She wouldn't want him the way he is now anyway.' Peyton thought, 'she should thank me.'

Brooke touched Peyton's cheek gently, "that's what worries me girlfriend," she said softly, "Lucas, he's no good for you. You deserve better than a guy who treats you like crap." Peyton shook her blond hair out of her eyes and moved Brooke's hand away, "thanks for the concern, but I'll handle it. I promise."

Brooke watched her best friend walk away, the concern obvious in her dark brown eyes. That is, until she caught sight of Nathan Scott. 'I'm going to make him mine,' she vowed to herself.

- - -

A pair of small hands were the lasting Nathan Lennox saw before everything went black. "Guess who?" a high-pitched giggly voice asked. "Isabel?" Nathan guessed. "Correct!" She screamed. Nathan turned and smiled at the hyperactive sophomore. He couldn't believe that he'd never noticed her in Tree Hill High before.

She had bright blue eyes that shone with intelligence and light blond hair, yet, she wasn't a cheerleader or in one of the popular cliques. She hung out with the group of girls who spent a lot of time doing charity work, studying and was the class president of the sophomores.

"Are we still on for friday?" She asked him excitedly. "Yeah, sure, of course!" Nathan grinned. Mentally, he wanted to punch himself for sounding like such a dork. He was on the basketball team, for God's sake! What was wrong with him? Couldn't he just play it cool? Like the team captain, Gabriel Lyons, he was so smooth with the girls, Nathan had no idea how he did it, he wished he did, however.

Nathan suddenly noticed a group of her friends watching them and giggling. She followed his gaze and blushed, "sorry." She whispered, "I'll catch you later." Then she smiled, and walked away.

- - -

Lucas watched her from across the quad. The way she walked with grace and confidence, her long blonde curls, there was no doubt about it, Peyton Sawyer was gorgeous. And she was his. So why did he treat her the way he did? Lucas wasn't sure. But somehow, no matter how many good qualities Peyton seemed to have on paper, it didn't seem to be enough for him.

He loved her looks, they were killer, of course. But, he somehow didn't feel the connection. They didn't have the connection that his parents had, something he desperately sook, but never seemed able to find. He looked over at Tim and Jenna, they were nauseating and were totally inferior to him in Peyton in all ways, but yet, they seemed to genuinely love each other, and secretly, Lucas envied them.

Sometimes, Lucas wondered if there was really something more out there. Lucas had a dirty little secret that he had yet to share with anyone, Peyton and even his friends. Yet, although he was popular, Lucas did not have any close friends. There was no one that he could really confide in, and that bothered him sometimes.

But because he did not know what to do with it, with that feeling that something was missing, he hid it. He hid it under his walls that he constructed to keep everyone out. He didn't trust anyone enough to let them in. And in his heart of hearts, that crushed him.

- - -

A/N: well, that's done:D review please! Email me at narinenia at yahoo. Com

In the next chapter:

What secret is Lucas hiding?

How will Nathan and Isabel's date go?

Does Peyton really have feelings for Jake?

Find out soon! (:


	4. Look What You've Done

Disclaimer: One tree hill and it's characters belongs to Mark Schwahn and the WB. Only Isabel belongs to me.

A/N: Hello everyone, in the true style of One Tree Hill, I've decided to make you guys wait before finding out Lucas' secret. Haha! Thank you all for reviewing! ((:

Summary: My own version of 'lifetime piling up'. Contains spoilers if you haven't seen season 2. This is basically about how things would've been if Dan had married Karen instead of Deb.

- - -

"Dan! Dan!" Dan Scott turned around to see Deb Lennox, a woman that he had known since college and mother to his son, Nathan. Dan scoweled at her angrily, "what do you want?" he hissed, "what if someone saw us together?"

Deb stared at Dan coldly, "did you know that Nathan joined the Ravens?" Dan raised an eyebrow, "really? Well, keep your boy out of Lucas' way."

"For God's sakes Dan! Nathan's your son too!"

"Look Deb," Dan explained heatedly, "we agreed on this sixteen years ago. You had Gerald and I love Karen. You and me sleeping together, it was a drunken mistake! Nathan, is a mistake."

Deb slapped him, "Nathan is the best thing that ever happened to me and that's not true. I did love you, you know I did." Dan stared at the blond woman in front of him, tears brimming her brown eyes, "well," he said coldly, "I never loved you."

Deb wept bitterly, "that's obvious. Karen and your children are all that matter to you." Dan nodded, "you've got that right. So let Nathan join the basketball team, I don't care. Just keep him out of my son's way." And just like that, he left Deb standing in the parking lot weeping.

- - -

"Jake! Put me down!" Haley screamed as Jake Jageilski playfully swung her around. Finally, he put her down and hugged her. "We won!" He was so excited, like a little boy. "Congratulations" Haley smiled at him. She noticed some of the cheerleaders staring enviously.

'Well, let them stare.' She thought, 'Jake's a great guy and any girl would be lucky to have him.' Jake slipped an arm around her slim waist, "so, do you wanna come back with me to my house and pop in a movie?"

"Sure." Haley nodded, "just let me tell Nathan okay?" She turned away from Jake to search for her best friend, and she saw him hugging Isabel. The sight alone scorched her eyes, she tore her eyes away from the couple and nodded, "it's okay, we can go now!"

"Cool," Jake smiled, "I'm glad you're living dangerously," he teased, "Haley James out late on a school night!" Haley playfully hit him on his rock solid chest and smiled at him. 'He's got such gorgeous light brown eyes.' She noticed.

- - -

"God, Lucas!" Peyton pushed him off her, "why are you always about sex? Don't you ever think about anything else?" Lucas Scott's blue eyes stared at her angrily, "so now you don't want to have sex with your boyfriend, is that it Peyton?" His eyes grew wide and he grabbed her arms painfully, "are you cheating on me? Is it someone else?" Peyton squirmed in his grasp, "Lucas! You're hurting me!"

"Lucas, you're hurting me." He mimicked her scornfully. Peyton's light blue eyes were wide and full of fear. She looked into Lucas' eyes and searched, where was the boy she had fallen in love with? Why were they even together anymore? Gathering all her strength, she shoved him off her. Since he hadn't been expecting that, Lucas stumbled and fell back.

"Lucas," Peyton began shakily, "I think we should end it." With that, she grabbed her things and fled.

- - -

Nathan's chest was filled with so much joy that he felt he was about to explode as he held hands with Isabel and walked her home. They hadn't said much, but it seemed like they didn't need to. They were comfortable with each other and they fit so well. Isabel stopped outside a large and imposing house.

"Wow, you live here?" Nathan asked, slightly intimidated. His family was pretty rich too, but it looked like Isabel's parents were millionaires. Isabel nodded shyly, "thanks for walking me home, Nathan." She kissed him on the cheek and skipped into her house.

Nathan placed a hand on his cheek, feeling the exact spot where Isabel's soft lips had been, he felt his cheek burning. Breaking out into a grin, he ran all the way home on his all time high. She had given him hope and for the first time in his life, he felt dedicated. All his life, he'd just done things and gone through the motions, but now, Nathan Lennox had purpose.

- - -

Jake and Haley laughed at the movie. They'd rented some B-list movie that never made it to the cinema, laughed and talked more than actually watching the movie. Yet, this part of the movie was so hilarious that Jake spilled his coke all over Haley's long bohemian style skirt.

"Oh- my- God." Jake gasped, through his laughter, "Haley, I'm so sorry, here, let's get you out of these wet clothes." Haley walked down the hall into Jake's bathroom and slipped on his robe. She heard the doorbell ring, wondering if it was Nathan, coming to give her a ride home, she wandered out.

Instead, she saw Peyton Sawyer standing on Jake's doorstep, hugging Jake as if he was a life preserve and she were drowning. Seeing Haley however, Peyton looked at Jake, the hurt obvious in her light blue eyes. She took another look at Haley, then turned and ran.

Jake glanced at Haley and then back at Peyton's retreating back. Slowly, he shut the door.

- - -

Brooke got home from another one of her wild parties at 3 in the morning, tonight, she'd decided to go to bed alone, and not get drunk for a change, just to try it out. Though that didn't mean that she couldn't dance the night away.

When she got home, however, she'd found someone swimming in her pool. "Hey you!" She shouted, "Pool boy! Get out of my pool!" Pool boy ignored her and did three more laps, his taunt arm muscles stretching out of the water.

Finally, pool boy got out and gave Brooke a shock. He was totally naked. He gave her a cocky grin, then sauntered off into the night. Leaving Brooke agitated and yet, intrigued. Though she would never admit that to anyone.

- - -

A/N: well, that's done:D

In the next chapter:

-Nathan and Isabel's date! I promise! I'm sorry, I somehow couldn't seem to fit it into this chapter.

-Brooke and Felix get accquainted.

-Peyton/Jake and Haley/Jake, a love triangle? Or just friends?

-Some Dan/Karen (:

Anyway, I've actually been cosidering starting a prequel to this, about Dan, Karen, Deb, Gerald and how they all ended up the way they are now. What do you guys think? Review please! (: or email me at narinenia at yahoo. Com, you guys know the drill.


	5. I'll Take The Tears

Disclaimer: One tree hill and it's characters belongs to Mark Schwahn and the WB. Only Isabel belongs to me.

A/N: Hello everyone thank you all for reviewing! ((: And all the advice on the shippings. But I'm gonna keep who ends up with who, a mystery. And just write as I do. At first, I didn't even plan on Jake/Haley story line, but it just happened. Haha. Anyway, WE SHALL SEE WHAT HAPPENS, yeah? (: By the way, if ya'll want an image of Isabel, I've pictured her to look like Kristen Bell, from Veronica Mars. If some of you guys have been wondering, I kinda decided not to really include Keith in the story.

Summary: My own version of 'lifetime piling up'. Contains spoilers if you haven't seen season 2. This is basically about how things would've been if Dan had married Karen instead of Deb.

- - -

Nathan observed Isabel opposite him. They were sitting on the grass at the river court, a picnic under the stars. And though he was happier than ever to have Isabel beside him, he was still irked from the events of this afternoon.

-flashback-

"_Isabel, Isabel, Isabel! That's all you care about, isn't it Nathan? What ever happened to you caring about your best friend? You know what Nathan? I love you, and I'd do anything for you. You're my best friend in the whole world, but lately all you care about is that bimbo!" Haley wept bitterly._

_Nathan felt so helpless, he didn't know what to do. He wanted to take Haley in his arms and apologize, for being a jerk, for hurting her this way. But he didn't know how to react, so he had shouted back at her, "Well you know what Haley? I think you're just jealous! Cos you don't have me all to yourself anymore! And cos you're so alone without me, cos no one else likes you! Isabel's so much better than you. I'm sorry I came to you for help."_

_And he had left her there, crying. Feeling more and more like a huge jerk every step he took, but he had really been at a loss what to do. It hurt him so much that he hurt his best friend that way, and he didn't know why he did it._

-end of flashback-

"Nathan! Nathan!" Nathan was jerked out his thoughts, to see Isabel looking at him curiously. "Yeah? Sorry." He smiled, "I was just caught up in some of my thoughts." She nodded understandingly, "you looked troubled. Anything you wanna talk about?"

For a moment, an instance, he considered telling her. Then, he wondered, 'why burden her with my problems? She's probably got enough on her plate.' So, absently, he shook his head and put an arm around her waist. "I'm just happy to be here with you." He announced and kissed her softly, she returned his kiss and soon their sweet kiss had turned into a passionate one.

They both pulled apart when they had to come up for air. After an uncomfortable silence, Isabel joked, "so where's that been all night?" Nathan smiled at her, "you wanna try again?" But this time, as he kissed her, he didn't know why Haley's tear stained face was so clear in his mind.

- - -

Lucas sat in his room, where he did most of his thinking. 'So Peyton and I are over. How do I feel about it? Am I really sad?' He wondered, thinking back. Their first kiss. Their first date. The hookup. Brooke. Brooke. Brooke. Brooke. Brooke.

He squinted, why couldn't he seem to get Brooke Davis out of his head? Maybe it was just because she was Peyton's good friend, and thus in everyone of his memories. He knew that she had been in to him. Yet, he also remembered the night where he'd tried to kiss her.

Peyton had been out of town and...

-flashback-

_Lucas Scott leaned in, his breath heavy with alcohol. "I know you like me Brooke. I know you always have. Ever since we were thirteen. You wanna know a secret? I think you're hot too." Then, he tried to claim her mouth with his. At first, Brooke didn't do anything._

_She didn't kiss him back, but she didn't move away. She let Lucas' soft lips linger on hers. Then, something unexpected happened. She pushed him away._

_Hurt and anger flashed in her dark brown eyes, "Lucas! You are such a jerk!" She screamed, "how can you do that to Peyton?"_

"_I know you like me Brooke! So maybe I like you too! What's the problem?"_

"_The problem is, you're dating my best friend!" Brooke shot back at him with equal fire. "Lucas, don't you ever dare try to cheat on Peyton again. Cos I will hear about it and I will make you sorry."_

_Lucas grabbed her and slammed her against the wall, "is that a threat?" Brooke stared at him, her brown eyes steely, "Lucas Scott, if you don't let go of me right now, you're gonna be sorry." Lucas stepped back and let go, "fine, you know what? I don't need you! I could have anybody!"_

_Brooke stared at him with a mixture of pity, anger and disgust in her eyes. "You're a pig." She muttered and walked off._

-End of flashback-

- - -

"Knock knock."

Peyton looked up from the picture she had been drawing. She'd never forget the sight of tutor bitch coming out of Jake's bathroom in his bath robe. "Oh, hi Jake." She avoided his eyes, hoping that he wouldn't be able to tell that she'd been crying.

As he walked over to her, Peyton quickly chucked the drawing under her bed. "Are you alright?" Peyton wiped the tears out of her eyes with her thumbs, "yeah, sure I'm fine. What's up?" She asked, trying to pretend that nothing was wrong.

Five seconds later, she lost it and started sobbing hysterically. Jake tried to take her in his arms, but she pushed him away. The second time though, she let him hold her as she clung to his shirt and buried her tears in his chest.

He stroked her hair, "it's okay, Peyton, it's alright." He soothed her with his voice. "No it's not!" Peyton sobbed."What happened?" He asked. "I broke up with Lucas."

"Aw, Peyton, I'm so sorry." He said and hugged her tighter. Peyton clung to him tighter, she just failed to tell him that seeing him and Haley together had made her more upset than anything with Lucas ever did.

- - -

"May I cut in?" Brooke's date of the night graciously stepped aside as another guy took his place. Brooke gasped when she realized that it was pool boy. He danced with her, "still picturing me naked, huh?" Brooke recoiled from him in disgust. She hated his cocky attitude. She hated how, the whole night she had just thought of him and wondered who he was.

"I'm Felix" he introduced himself, "and I'm the new heart and soul of the Raven's defense." Brooke raised an eyebrow, "cocky, aren't you?"

"Confident baby," he answered, showing her his gorgeous pearly whites. Brooke was sure that girls routinely threw themselves at him. But she wasn't any girl, she was Brooke Davis, which was why, she did what she did next. She turned and walked away from him.

- - -

"I'm glad we did this." Karen said to her husband holding his hand across the table. They were at Don Giogrrani's the famous Italian restaurant just outside of Tree Hill. "I'm glad too." Dan smiled at her. "But Karen, there's something I've been meaning to tell you..." He trailed off, seeing Deb and Gerald Lennox standing behind them, "hi Dan." Deb smiled cheerfully.

Gerald looked almost uncomfortable, clearly his wife was going insane. Karen knew that Deb's son Nathan, was actually Dan's and not Gerald's. After all, Dan never could keep things from her. "What a coincidence, can we join you guys?"

"Actually, we were just leaving." Dan pulled Karen to her feet and they quickly exited the restaurant. "I wonder what that was about." Karen asked aloud. Dan waved it off, "she's just trying to get to me, don't care about her." he said and kissed Karen on the cheek. Karen smiled, "how is it possible to be this in love?"

- - -

A/N: well, that's done:D

Review please! (: or email me at narinenia at yahoo. Com. I love you guys so much! It's your reviews that make me wanna continue and keep writing! (:


	6. Hammers And Hearts

Disclaimer: One tree hill and it's characters belongs to Mark Schwahn and the WB. Only Isabel belongs to me.

A/N: Hello everyone thank you all for reviewing! ((: And all the advice on the shippings. But I'm gonna keep who ends up with who, a mystery. And just write as I do. At first, I didn't even plan on Jake/Haley story line, but it just happened. Haha. Anyway, WE SHALL SEE WHAT HAPPENS, yeah? (: By the way, if ya'll want an image of Isabel, I've pictured her to look like Kristen Bell, from Veronica Mars. If some of you guys have been wondering, I kinda decided not to really include Keith in the story.

Summary: My own version of 'lifetime piling up'. Contains spoilers if you haven't seen season 2. This is basically about how things would've been if Dan had married Karen instead of Deb.

- - -

Nathan awoke to hear a crashing coming from his kitchen. "For God's sake Deb! Have you lost your mind?" His father shouted. 'Strange,' Nathan thought, 'dad's probably the most calm and reserved man around. What's he doing shouting in the middle of the night?'

Silently, he got out of bed and crept downstairs towards their kitchen. "The two of you've been over for so long! Why are you still hanging on? Haven't I done enough for you?" Gerald's voice cracked at the end.

"Look, Gerald, I'm trying! I'm really trying!" Deb shrieked, flinging a few pans of the stove. "God! Where are my pills?!"

"I'm not giving you any pills Deb! This is where I draw the line."

"Fine! Draw your stupid line. I don't need you! I'm taking Nathan and going!"

"You go where you want to go, but you're not dragging Nathan into this!"

"Oh please, he's not even your real son!"

It got deathly quiet in the kitchen, and Nathan felt his whole world turn upside down. He stepped into the kitchen, "what do you mean, I'm not his real son?"

- - -

"So maybe I really like you! What's so wrong about that?" Felix demanded.

Brooke glared at him, "what's wrong is, we had an agreement! This was just about sex, remember? I am **not** your girlfriend! We are **not** exclusive! I don't love you, Felix!"

"Yeah, that's pretty clear from the way you look at Nathan Scott! You're so desperate for him Brooke."

Brooke was appalled, "I am not! There's a difference between lust and love and I don't love anybody!"

"Maybe that's cos you're just scared of letting someone in after your best friend screwed you over."

Brooke slapped him, "do me a favour buddy, and don't pretend you know anything about me. We're not friends, we're not friends with benefits, we're nothing! You are **nothing** to me, you understand that?"

Then she stalked off, as only Brooke Davis can.

- - -

_-flashback-_

"_Nathan. I can't see you anymore." _

"_What? Why? Weren't we having so much fun together?"_

_She looked him in the eyes, "look, Nathan, I just can't okay? Don't make this any harder than it already is." Isabel turned her back and walked away from him._

_Nathan sighed, his head torn with confusion, his eyes nearly brimming with tears. They'd only been out a few times, but he had had such strong feelings for her. He felt close to her, as if there was a bond between them, an unspoken bond, that he didn't know how to put into words._

_'Why, why, why?' he asked himself, 'did we move to fast? What did I do wrong?!'_

- - -

"I like you, I really do... But, you're just not the girl for me, y'know?" Jake tried to explain, as nicely as he possibly could. "I mean, yeah. We could have something... But what I have with her, I can't fight it y'know? I'm sorry that I'm such a loser. Anyway, it wouldn't be fair for me to lead you on this way. So, friends?" He smiled, offering his hand and feeling like a jerk.

- - -

A/N: well, that's done:D so so so! WHO IS JAKE CHOOSING? Peyton or haley? Vote in your reviews please! (: sorry that this one's a short chapter. Hahaha. email me at narinenia at yahoo. Com if you want (: I love you guys so much! It's your reviews that make me wanna continue and keep writing! (:


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